It's been disturbing to watch a country who usually leads the world on health and safety matters digress into a cesspool of bitter arguments. On one side you have science and reality. On the other, ignorance. This is just the latest example of science and reality having to defend itself from ignorance, but never before have the stakes been more serious.
In March, when we started discussing the possibility of shutting Minnesota and the rest of the US down, the response should've been 'Wow! This must be serious; life or death. I know it'll be hard, but we need to do what we can.'
Instead, fueled by the modern Republican standard of turning EVERYTHING political, we immediately were inundated with "you're destroying America. So what if the old people die! That's a sacrifice I'm willing to make. I need a haircut! I want to be able to eat my Beef N' Cheddar inside the Arby's!" Republicans are so addicted to the concept of 'Them vs. Us,' they don't hear people screaming "we're trying to save you!" They only hear the conspiracy theory which validates their version of reality.
It's stunning how many Republicans have to either lose a loved one or to get extremely sick themselves for them to shake off the lies and distortion.
Republican politicians try to dance on the edge of the sword. On one side is their manufactured outrage at any Democratic led restriction designed to keep citizens healthy and safe. "They're lying about the disease. It's nothing more than the seasonal flu. Face masks are restricting your freedom. Shutting down businesses is tantamount to extreme Communism."
But the minute part of the economy they demanded be re-opened reopens? "Whoa! Who told you everything was safe? Sure it's good that businesses are reopened, but I never suggested you should go to the stores, just that they should be open. If you go shopping, you are taking your life into your own hands. I refuse to take any responsibility for the reopening of stores I demanded be reopened!"
On top of this double speak, it's hard to comprehend the extent of intentional ignorance today.
Republicans look at the skyrocketing Corona Virus cases and act as if there is nothing we can do to stop it, ignoring the real world case studies across the globe (Canada, Germany, New Zealand, South Korea, Japan) which show us if you lock down a country, make people wear face masks, and impose strict guidelines, a country can get this nightmare under control in two to three months.
Republicans have watched as meat processing facilities across the country, most of them in heavy red districts, have become the epicenters of the pandemic. Clearly, company owners and management were not looking out for their employees and their communities. In a law and order world, political leaders would be demanding answers and accountability from the people responsible for the deaths of so many. Instead Republicans are desperately trying to pass laws giving immunity to the meat processing business owners.
And in one of the new trends of the "pro-life" Republican Party, a disturbing narrative took hold early in this crisis; "if grandma and grandpa die, too bad, but they were old anyway. Their lives are a reasonable cost to keep the economy open during the pandemic!" The same people who have been screaming 'cherish life' are now openly encouraging the Greatest Generation to be tribute to ensure people can sit inside a Taco Bell and eat their breakfast burrito. (side note: The Right's anti-abortion verbiage has changed from 'pro-life' to a variation of 'let all babies be born.' They're now only for de-wombing, and nothing else.)
Here we are, mid-July, now looking at the 2020/2021 school year. Polling shows many parents were frustrated with the remote learning experience they had in Spring, even though that learning model was built on the fly. Undeniably the hardest part of remote learning is K - 2nd grade students who need to have a more 'hands on' approach, but frankly it's hard to get work done with any aged kids around. Buoyed by a public sentiment exasperated by the thought of starting the school year online, the Trump Administration and Republicans are now demanding schools open up for 'in person' education.
The United States of America is nowhere near ready for 'in person' classes to start this Fall. We can't open the schools. We'd kill thousands with this decision alone. Most young kids get mild medical symptoms of COVID-19, but some do die. And kids with pre-existing medical conditions would have to be locked away for their safety.
The teachers, staff and school administration would be highly susceptible. How many teachers could a school district lose for two months (especially rural schools) before they'd have to consider shutting down completely? And many of the on call substitute teachers are retired teachers, many in the Corona Virus target age range. You expect them to fill in? How would you handle busing? How about lunch time? You have NO CHANCE at being able to pull this off.
We have to be smarter.
It's time we stopped allowing idiots to make the decisions! We have to move classes online in September. In fact, we need to shut this country down for three months, far exceeding the half ass measures we've done as a country. All non-essential workers need to stay at home. All bars and restaurants need to close. All shopping centers and entertainment centers need to locked it up. At least 95% of flights need to be grounded. Road travel needs to be limited. And face mask wearing in public to be mandatory.
When someone says otherwise, we need to slap them in the head and scream "STOP BEING AN IDIOT!" Three months of staying inside and waiting this out is the safest option. It's not economic suicide, as it'd be FAR better in the long run to only suffer three months of pain, instead of the years we currently could be dealing with this. If Republicans stopped giving tax dollars to the wealthy, instead subsidizing small business and the working class (like many other capitalist countries have) we'd weather this. We're doing what it takes to save lives. That should be our priority.
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